The Pope is making the same mistakes as the bankers...

Last year we all sneered unforgivably at the UK bankers forced to apologies for mishandling the economy. They had been entrusted with one of our most important possessions, our money, especially the money of the poor, and they had played fast and loose with it. Their crocodile tears were too little, too late. We neither believed they would really change, nor credited them with any moral currency.

Similarly, the Catholic Church has been entrusted by society with that most precious of all, our children, and it has played equally fast and loose with their safety. We now know that it was more interested in protecting the rights of the unborn child than protecting the rights of walking ‘n’ talking children in their care. Unfortunately the recent repentance of senior figures sounds more like an exercise in damage limitation similar to the bankers, than a deeply humbled leadership and a community ready for root and branch reform. The Pope is neither acknowledging the criminality his church concealed nor handing over enough priests suspected of perpetuating these crimes to the police.

Just as with the banks, the Catholic Church's integrity will make or break societies willingness to entrust to it that which it considers most important. If the church ever hopes to enjoy the trust of society again and receive the most vulnerable into its care, it will have to do more than apologies under duress, and employ PR managers to safeguard its brand.